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Monday, May 27, 2013

A friend of mine, a dancer
with Atlanta Ballet, posted a status update that left me livid -- blinking and
sputtering:

The “gay”
Swan Lake is not fare that will attract the traditional Atlanta audience. Some
marketing savvy, please???? Atlanta Ballet is one of the oldest companies in
Atlanta… but they have always had to struggle and have experienced more valleys
than peaks. The inaugural season at Cobb Energy Center was well considered: a
complete season of traditionally choreographed, full-length story ballets. That
would continue to attract a broad audience and put AB back on track. But after
that first season in the Cobb Centre, they ventured back into studio, modern
dance, and minimalist costuming and scenery. I dropped my subscription and will
never go back. Listen up, folks. You have to give your audience what they want.
In order to do that, you have to study them and learn who they are. If this is
the kind of stuff you want to present, then get out of the South and go back to
NYC or California.

The caustic
responses flew under this ballsy missive, authored by a Mr. Stelling in
response to a review of "Love Stories", Atlanta Ballet's final performance of the 2012
-13 season.

We were horrified.

But what if the guy had a point?

After all, dance companies
were struggling, many forced to fold. Maybe it was simply that dance companies
were presenting stuff no one -- save the latte-drinkin', foreign-car drivin',
sushi-eatin' crowd -- wanted to see.

Imagine the Red State Ballet Theater, a
dance company reflective of our deep-seeded national divide! One that gives the people what they want, with works such as these:

Suite
Honey Boo-Boo

Disturbing
celebrities with P.R. woes know just where to come for an image hosedown.Alla Haiders last evening length work,
Kiss Me Ke$ha, had audiences tweeting that the pop sensation would be an ideal
preschool teacher.Ms. Haiders now
pays brilliant tribute to Honey Boo-Boo in a ballet comprised of seven tour de
force female solos.“Vegetables
Kill People,”“Throwin' Sketti on the Cab'nets,” and “Glitzy Piglet” will have audiences crying out for more, and
wondering why Miss Boo Boo lacks a seat on the US Senate.

Barry's
Got Your Gun

In this
timely gem about our 44th president, new choreographer Rush Limbaugh
shows he never met a literal idea he didn't put a ring on!Desmond Richardson stars, reaching into homes, hospitals and businesses
and starving people, doing a series of frenzied jumps and stomps on a paper
reading "THE 2ND AMENDMENT", and dancing a passionate duet with the
Koran while enjoying a large vat of hummus.The thrilling chase and fight scene around the Oval Office
with Speaker John Boehner, played by himself, is more than worth the price of
admission.

Nascaria

Recently, a
dancemaker known simply as “Billy” was enjoying a dance performance when
behind him he overheard some men complaining that ballet was “dumber ‘n a dead
possum.”He spoke gently to them
at intermission, and left the theater with two black eyes and a broken
rib.Even before he could see
straight, Billy rushed into the studio demanding that his dancers, “do y’alls jumps so fast folks can’t even see 'em!”The result is the long-awaited lovechild of car racing and classical ballet.

Duckerella Lake

This slap-yo'-momma-good
evening length work blends two traditional story ballets, Cinderella and Swan
Lake, with Duck Dynasty. On a hunting trip a young duck hunter meets the
woman of his dreams and swears his undying love. Little does he know
after midnight she turns into a duck! The following week, he thinks he's
repeating his promise to the same woman, except she’s got a tan. He has
no idea that he's been tricked by the evil, animal activist owner of a tanning
empire, the Organ-A-Tan-N-Save, who kidnaps sets of twins, makes them ducks by
night and women by day, fits them with webbed stilettos, and leaves one pale
and the other tanner than George Hamilton.Will the young hunter run off and join PETA? Or will
he figure out how to eat, kill, love?

But seriously, all satire
aside, if it’s been a while since your last dance performance, or if you never
see live dance, what would it take to get you into the theater?

And for those in the dance
biz, what makes you go see something or decide to skip it?What do you think keeps people
away?

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Hi, and welcome, welcome, welcome, new readers! You are probably here because you read my post about teaching, and wanted to build me a shrine, or you think I am the teacher equivalent of the Tiger Mom, and you are plotting to have me put in a van and never seen again.

Either way, I hope you'll stay, because whether or not I'm severely off my pins, this is a rockin' fun place to hang out.

My name is Keesha. I used to dance professionally, but now I spend my time teaching college level modern and jazz dance and guest teaching in the Chicago area. This is a mom blog of course, which means I strive to be the best mom I can be to two small children, eighteen months apart under the age of five while devoting 99% of my attention to my computer. Kidding! Seriously, writing is my new passion, because ballet class at 1 a.m. is weird and impractical. Mom's New Stage, which I started in July, 2011, shines a spotlight on motherhood, dance, laughter, and the intersections between the three.

Now, at this point there's a pretty big body of work on this site. I'm just going to be honest here - going through post by post might make you stick hot pokers in your eyes. I'll give you five of my faves, and you can take it from there.

I'm not telling you a little secret, I'm telling you about the book I'm in! I Just Want to Pee Alone is a wonderful anthology of hilarious essays by 37 of the hottest mom bloggers working the Interwebs today. Put together by Rockstar blogger Jen of People I Want to Punch in the Throat, IJWTPA reached the top of the humor charts within a week of its debut on Amazon, surpassing our wildest dreams, and our idol Tina Fey herself. The fantastic bloggers in IJWTPA include:

These are some of the bloggers for whom I'd take a virtual bullet for AND stare at Rush Limbaugh naked for three whole seconds. Obvi, I love these women. You'd be wise to check them out before you draw your next breath, soon, please.

Thank you for stopping by and getting to know me and some of my friends a little better. I can't wait to share the contents of my dusty, sleep-deprived brain with you, as well as hear what you have to say in response. And please, please, please comment - the only thing that could make me giddier would be a bag of Twizzlers. I hope you'll remember me on your tours around the Interwebs - I'd love to keep you laughing, thinking, and perhaps, even inspired.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

First, I know you love dance.You want to be great.You want to work.You want
people to see all that you have to offer.You are also coming of age in a dance world that is so different from
the one I grew up in, and I’m excited to see what develops.

But I’ve seen a lot that concerns me.

You come from a generation that has been empowered like none
before in humanity.You have been
taught to question authority – to do your own thing -- from an early age.Many of you have been raised where “everyone
gets a trophy,” and your teachers, parents and coaches, trying to be
encouraging, often praised you just because. Furthermore, in the age of the
Internet everything is accessible instantly and effortlessly.You want to look up a word or
person?Google it.You hear a song you like?You don’t even have to remember the
words -- just Shazam it.Hell, you
don’t even have to push a button anymore; you merely touch a screen.

When you are asked to work at something because that is
simply what one does, many of you ask “Why should I?So-and-so made this thing and it went mad viral.”A few people are genuine overnight
sensations -- results of our spectacle-hungry, media-addicted culture.Most sudden phenoms, however, have been
toiling quietly for years before their “moment.”

Success is a process.

Success is also a product of criticism from others and
oneself.In dance class
corrections are very public.The
teacher cannot always say everything in the gentlest way.With a class full of students, she
needs to be concise and clear.

Your teacher’s job is not to make you like her, not to make
you want go have coffee or drinks, or to be lifelong or even Facebook friends.
Personally, I like it when I become friends with students. But this happens
because before anything else the student trusted me – my skills and knowledge as a dancer and teacher.

If you don’t trust your teacher you might find her
corrections disrespectful.I tend
to get zealous with corrections, going on campaigns and harangues to fix
things.My humor tends toward the
sarcastic, which can rub people the wrong way.Thus the combination of doggedly wanting to help and a dry
wit might offend some students.

If you are one of these students, you need to come talk to
me about it.

Don’t rip me a new one via your parents or in your course
evaluation.

Certainly there is humiliation, even cruelty in the dance
studio.The caricature of the mean
teacher or choreographer is based in truth.But when you find a teacher who is going out of her way to
correct you, and perhaps getting a little frustrated – to call this teacher
disrespectful is wrong.You do
yourself a disservice.

It is much easier for your teacher to ignore you, and spend
time on someone who makes changes quickly. Only a teacher who thinks you have
potential would bother to try to help you.Not disrespectful at all – exactly the opposite.

And that puts the onus on you, to take responsibility for
yourself.If you don’t understand
why you are getting a correction five times per class or why your dancing is
not getting the compliments you’d like, ASK!

The teachers who gave me the harshest, most brutally honest
corrections are the ones I learned the most from.I didn’t like what they had to say, but in my day, we just
went home and cried -- never did we accuse the teacher of disrespect.Weeks, months or even years later, I
realized how right the teacher was. That said, their corrections didn’t mean I
was a) a bad dancer b) never going to dance professionally c) meant to be a
Taco Bell employee.

So please, take class mindfully. Work hard. Bring passion into the studio. Be curious
about how to get better.Ask
questions.And remember, if
someone cares enough to work with you day in and day out, if she or he cares
enough to get frustrated with you, she’s not being disrespectful, she’s
TEACHING.

You have so much information and technology available to
you, and I know you have a lot to say.But a skilled dancing body still counts.Let me help.

Friday, May 10, 2013

I just signed my first contract with a professional ballet
company. I auditioned for companies all over the country these past few months.
I've trained at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, Houston Ballet School,
Chicago Ballet Arts, Dance Center Evanston, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet,
Boston Ballet, and first of all Giordano Dance Center. Looking back, there is
one person who has always been there for me, rain or shine, for better or for
worse, and that's my mom.

photo: Matt Glavin

I would simply not be
where I am today without her unconditional love and undying support. Being a
dancer is so incredibly difficult. You push through blood, sweat, and tears on
a daily basis. You rehearse the same steps so many times they show up in your
dreams. You sacrifice a lot in order to survive in the dance world...you
sacrifice everything in order to move up a rung on the ladder. This constant
struggle means that dancers need support, and no one is better for that job
than their parents. Especially since dancers often realize their dreams of
becoming professionals at a very young age. I don't mean to leave my dad out of
this, it's just that it's both Mother's Day and my mother's birthday coming up
so...I love you both!

While my mom is
awesome, I want to highlight the antithesis as well. There is this TV show:
Dance Moms. I can't watch the show without yelling at the screen and rolling my
eyes every five minutes. These parents are every dancer's nightmare.

ñA
good dance mom drives their kid to endless classes and rehearsals, but doesn't
drive the kid insane with undue pressure.

ñA
good dance mom communicates with the teachers but does not harass them when
their kid doesn't get the solo.

ñA
good dance mom asks how class or rehearsal went, but doesn't analyze every
movement or every correction on the car ride home.

ñA
good dance mom lets her kid dictate her path in the dance world and doesn't
force them to take at this studio or with that teacher...etc.

ñA
good dance mom is okay if her kid wants to quit.

Generally speaking, a
good dance mom supports instead of suffocates. I've seen beautiful dancers quit
to get out from under their mother's thumb, or because they will never be good
enough for her. I've seen talented dancers suffer setback after setback due to
lack of family support. It's heartbreaking, but sadly not all that uncommon.

My mom is always there
for me. When things go well, we celebrate, when they don't, I vent to her and
she cheers me up. She's the one person who completely understands why I love to
dance. It's so hard to explain that overwhelming force that pushes us to
express ourselves by moving to music. All we dancers really want is for someone
to understand why we do this. My mom understands that it's not a hobby for me,
it's not a sport for me, it's a way of life. And I love her to pieces for that.
I want to thank my mom for every big and little thing she's done.

photo: Rich Sofranko

Paige Robinson is nineteen years old, from Wilmette, IL. She
will be a trainee with Eugene Ballet Company starting this fall. She is finishing
her second year in Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's Graduate Program. In the Chicago
area she studied at Dance Center Evanston, Chicago Ballet Arts, and Giordano
Dance Center. She had the pleasure of working with Keesha Beckford in modern
classes and credits her for breaking her out of her shell. Paige also graduated
from New Trier High School in 2011 and in her spare time is learning how to
teach dance.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

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Saturday, May 4, 2013

Kate Walker graduated magna cum
laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Cornish College of the Arts in
Seattle, Washington. She is a former member of Dallas Black Dance Theatre
II, and artistic director of DekaDance. Kate is also currently working on her
Masters in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Kate has taught master classes
around the country and her choreography has been commissioned by Dallas Black
Dance Theatre II, The Hockaday School, Brookhaven Community College, and
Contemporary Ballet Dallas, to name a few. She has been featured in Dance
Studio Life and Dance Teacher magazines for her teaching and continuing studies
in sport psychology.

As a member of the Booker T.
Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts faculty, Kate teaches
ballet and modern techniques, as well as portfolio, kinesiology, and she
co-directs Repertory Dance Company II.

How many children do you
have? Boys? Girls?

I have one
boy, Declan (pronounced “Deck-lan”), who is almost 4.

Did you always plan to
continue dancing and being a mom?

I’m not a
great “planner,” I am a fantastic procrastinator; so I think what happened was
I just put off stopping dancing. Seriously though, I was 27 when my son was
born and people, mostly other dancers, kept asking me if I was retired. It
drove me nuts! What some people see as retired, I see as being picky. I am
definitely still performing, creating, and teaching; it’s just that now I
choose my projects more carefully because I value my time with my family.

How do you balance
teaching, choreographing and motherhood? When do you create new movement?

Man, I
don’t know if we ever really balance everything. My husband has been on my case
to be more fully present in each moment. I tend to be connected to my phone:
constantly texting with fellow faculty members and dancers, or checking out
people’s shenanigans on social media, so I am trying to unplug and really enjoy
what I am doing at each moment.

As for
where I create, the dance studio has always been a sacred space for me, but I
rarely get time by myself in the studio anymore. So like most teachers and
choreographers, I create most movement in my car during my commute and hope
like crazy it will actually work when I get bodies to try it out on. Luckily, I
teach some absolutely incredible students at Booker T. Washington High School
for the Performing and Visual Arts (BTWHSPVA) who constantly challenge and
inspire me, and most importantly, they will try anything!

Photo: Ken Smith

There are times when I
look at my body, even through my harsh dancer eyes and think, wow, you look
pretty good lady, and other times when I am plunged into a pit of despair over
it. What are you feelings about your body? Are your feelings any
different post- motherhood?

I usually
have the “you look good” moments first thing in the morning when I pick out my
outfit for the day (of sweats and t-shirt, I mean let’s be real), and then I
spend all day long teaching high school students. That can kill a girl’s
confidence pretty quickly. Nothing like standing next to 14-18 year olds in
leotards, tights, and perfect make up for hours on end while I’m sweating my
butt off and well, not a teenager anymore. When I cut myself a break, I know I
am a much better dancer and performer now than I ever was before becoming a
mother. The body may not respond as quickly as I’d like sometimes, but I’m also
not in class consistently like I used to be. I get my butt kicked at the gym on
a regular basis, and I’m much stronger than I used to be so I tend to use that
to boost my confidence. I take great pride in being able to do more push ups
than most high school kids, but ask me to do cardio next to them and I’m
screwed. To sum up, I still have the same love/hate relationship I used to have
with my body, now I just use my hectic schedule as an excuse when I’m not
feeling it.

Has being a parent
changed your approach to teaching? If so, how?

I’ve always
been pretty no nonsense in my approach to teaching, and, as cliché as it is to
say, I think of all my students as my kids and try to treat them that way. So
maybe my approach to teaching hasn’t changed so much, but it has definitely
changed my approach to interacting with parents. Since I teach in a high
school, a portion of my job is interacting with parents and guardians of
students. My son may be a decade younger than the kids I teach, but I can talk
to parents with common experience and understanding, and a huge amount of
respect because I know what’s in store for me!

These days, instead of
being purists, dancers must have a number of forms in their technical tool
belt. How does this play into your teaching?

Well, it is
my secret desire to be a breakdancer. Ok, maybe not so secret. I teach ballet
and modern at many different technique and ability levels, and one of my
favorite things is to learn my students’ secret dancer identities. You know,
when you have a student and you find out they’re a tapper, irish step dancer,
ballet folklorico superstar, or whatever it is. I think it’s awesome to see how
all those different skills can be applied to the movement I’m creating.
Cookie-cutter dancers have never interested me and I like to think that makes
my classes less intimidating to people. (But really, I’ve enlisted some of my
high schoolers to teach me how to break dance, it’s going to be epic.)

What’s your favorite
dance TV show - past or present?

While I
really appreciate the come back that dance has made through shows like “Dancing
with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” I’m really more of a golden
age of musicals kind of girl. I adore anything with Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire,
Donald O’Connor, Ann Miller, and the list goes on. My son loves “On The Town”
and “Singin’ in the Rain” which makes me incredibly happy; we watch those a
lot!

What ‘s your "Is
this really happening to me?" mommy tale that will give you years of
mileage at cocktail parties?

Oh, there
are so many to choose from, my son is a budding stand up comedian with
impeccable timing! He is master of the one-liner, as so many toddlers are, but
I think my favorite Declan-ism was when he was asked what he wants to be when
he grows up, he responded “I want to be an artist so I can art everything!” I
think every dance mom has her fair share of screaming in the audience and
talking during quiet pieces stories, but when Declan came to one of his first
concerts after he started talking he tried to talk to our department chair as
she gave her welcome speech. The best part was when he yelled “Hi, Lily” she
answered him from the stage!

Once you become a parent, treating yourself is rare. How do you self-indulge these days?

The regular
turn off the brain and body indulgence is mindless television and movies, when
I can manage to stay awake for them. It usually takes me two or three tries to
actually watch an entire episode or movie because I just zonk out. I also have
really fun colleagues who are great to hang out and kick back with. We laugh a
lot, at work and at home, which does wonders to de-stress.

Your advice to mothers of
young children, particularly mothers in dance?

The best
advice I got was “make your own normal.” Whatever your child grows up with will
be normal for him or her. If going to the studio and being in the theater late
is a common occurrence for you, then that’s what your children will understand.
Just know where to draw the line. It’s really hard to say “no” to things, but
learning that word was a revelation for me. I always thought people would be
offended if I told them no, but it really never mattered in the long run, they
always understood. You just have to make sure your family time is precious and
your loved ones know they are valued. I’m still working on that, every chance I
get I make sure my guys know how much I love them.